INSTANT OVERLANDER: Mikey's Transitory Sprinter Camper
- Thread starter mhiscox
- Start date
airbrush a mermaid or something
"I'm about ready to find some ex-hippie guy to airbrush a mermaid on the side, or something."
Here is a link to the "or something"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P94dVH8vceg
"I'm about ready to find some ex-hippie guy to airbrush a mermaid on the side, or something."
Here is a link to the "or something"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P94dVH8vceg
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
The cot got changed to the 3/4 inch plywood equivalent I put in the same space (pictures soon). So one person sleeps in palatial comfort on the 5" mattress/cushion. A second person can, using the semi-palatial Exped Megamat I carry, sleep either in the sliding door area (if you know them well) or in the back aisle by the kitchen (if you don't). I can, using a couple of magnets, attach a small nylon tarp to exposed metal on the ceiling, to divide the sleeping areas.
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Good heavens.:Wow1:
I enjoyed seeing that, though my wrist would fall off from shaking that many rattle cans. The benefits of the stealthy aspects of the current setup are growing on me, though.
chromisdesigns
Adventurer
"How to take thousands off the value of your new van in 250 not-so-easy steps..."
or
"Nothing says "Cop Magnet" like a painted up surfer van with amanita mushrooms featured prominently in the design"
From the video, I'd guess he owns the surf shop the van is in front of, so maybe it's a business asset...but in that case, after all that work, I'd at least have clear-coated the thing! Maybe he did, but it's not in the video.
mk216v
Der Chef der Fahrzeuge
Wow . . . color me lame for having let this thread sit for two months.
The only defense is that I've been out a lot in this truck, and have also been doing some minor changes, though I haven't yet lost the ability to use the truck for hauling. It worked well to take the Icon Designs Ural motorcycle Scott Brady borrowed in Portland through some bad weather down to Roseburg, and I hauled home a bunch of plywood sheets which later got cut up for some of the interior furniture, which is kind of cool when you think about it. I've got pictures of the changes that I'll get posted up in the next few days. But I also made one really good change worth mentioning now, though there's not anything to look at.
The most recent trip was nine days and about 1600 miles down to the Redwoods and in and out of the Cascade river valleys. Really scenic stuff. And in spite of mediocre and worse weather, all went very well.
Part of that was because I swapped out the standard cargo van springs and replaced them with the springs used for the passenger version. Without very much heavy stuff in the rear, the cargo springs didn't have enough weight on them, so the van bounced and crashed over all the bumps. So switching to the passenger springs was a really good idea. The ride was way better with lots less pounding, as expected, but the more compliant springs also helped with the handling. We had no problems with some very curvy and often broken pavement, and I think I would have before the switch, or even on my previous conversion. The LTX Michelins I put on when I bought it probably didn't hurt, either. Anyway, the Sprinter rides VERY nicely now. Driving hundreds of miles at a time is no hardship.
I suppose I also ought to brag about the fuel economy. Three fill ups, one at 22+, one at 23+ and the last one at better than 24 mpg. And that was with a lot of up and down and some start and stop thrown into every leg. It's making it tough to give up this little 5-banger for a new model.
The weather is always crappy here in Oregon. That's why no one else should move here; crappy weather. Skip Oregon and head straight north to WA.
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Time for an Update . . .
First off, the truck is running great. The ride is great, the handling good, the power more than adequate, the fuel economy really good, etc. I still intend to do a fancy conversion on a 2014, but it's not the slam dunk it was two months ago. Nothing about using this van is a hardship.
By the way, if you're entering the thread here rather than having started at the beginning, you need to know that a lot of what seems weird ways of doing things is a result of a) not wanting to spend much money fixing up a van that will likely be sold relatively soon and b) a desire to keep most things removable so the van can be used for hauling, as show here:
Anyway, after living out of it for a while, and having a big trip coming up, some modest changes got made and they've worked out to be small improvements. The first was to replace the Roll-Cot that had been the platform for the sofa/bed with $20 worth of screwed-together poplar plywood.
I eliminated any tendency for the bed to move away from the wall by sticking a couple of u-bolts into the load floor.
Then a top went on. It's 30 inches wide and 74 inches long. That would normally be about 5" too deep to make a comfortable seat, but we have fluffy oversized back cushions that reduce the seat depth. I drilled a couple of holes along the back to stick in two thrust rivets that attach the top to the base
There's a long oval hole in the top which, besides giving access to the water tank fill, makes a convenient place to store the awning and poles and the vinyl cover that wraps around the front window for privacy.
When the mattress and cushions are on, it looks like this.
The mattress is the same 5" thick Ikea Sultan Favang foam mattress used from the start and left to us from the original Sprinter when the new owner changed the bed configuration. I think it is a very good compromise to use as both a bench cushion and a mattress, something I wouldn't say about most of the cushions I've tried to use for dual purposes. It was about 36 x 68 when in the Sprinter, but by sawing 6" off the side foam and using that to extend the length using Super 77 spray adhesive, I got it so it fits correctly in the new 30 x 74 cover I had made.
One of the best "looks kludgey but works really well" parts of this build is that the platform is dimensioned so that 12 gallon containers fit perfectly under the platform. The length of these containers is such that they line up with the front edge of the platform when they're pushed up against the water tank. One goes to the left and right side of the bench support, leaving room for two in the center. And the aisle left between the platform and the stuff on the passengers side allows the bins to be pulled straight out and opened.
There's useful space between the furthest front bin and the base of the driver's seat; we use it to store a foam pad and one or two Pico chairs. The Costco High Sierra backpack straps to the back of the passenger's seat and gives a good amount of easy-to-get-to storage for $20.
More to come . . .
First off, the truck is running great. The ride is great, the handling good, the power more than adequate, the fuel economy really good, etc. I still intend to do a fancy conversion on a 2014, but it's not the slam dunk it was two months ago. Nothing about using this van is a hardship.
By the way, if you're entering the thread here rather than having started at the beginning, you need to know that a lot of what seems weird ways of doing things is a result of a) not wanting to spend much money fixing up a van that will likely be sold relatively soon and b) a desire to keep most things removable so the van can be used for hauling, as show here:
Anyway, after living out of it for a while, and having a big trip coming up, some modest changes got made and they've worked out to be small improvements. The first was to replace the Roll-Cot that had been the platform for the sofa/bed with $20 worth of screwed-together poplar plywood.
I eliminated any tendency for the bed to move away from the wall by sticking a couple of u-bolts into the load floor.
Then a top went on. It's 30 inches wide and 74 inches long. That would normally be about 5" too deep to make a comfortable seat, but we have fluffy oversized back cushions that reduce the seat depth. I drilled a couple of holes along the back to stick in two thrust rivets that attach the top to the base
There's a long oval hole in the top which, besides giving access to the water tank fill, makes a convenient place to store the awning and poles and the vinyl cover that wraps around the front window for privacy.
When the mattress and cushions are on, it looks like this.
The mattress is the same 5" thick Ikea Sultan Favang foam mattress used from the start and left to us from the original Sprinter when the new owner changed the bed configuration. I think it is a very good compromise to use as both a bench cushion and a mattress, something I wouldn't say about most of the cushions I've tried to use for dual purposes. It was about 36 x 68 when in the Sprinter, but by sawing 6" off the side foam and using that to extend the length using Super 77 spray adhesive, I got it so it fits correctly in the new 30 x 74 cover I had made.
One of the best "looks kludgey but works really well" parts of this build is that the platform is dimensioned so that 12 gallon containers fit perfectly under the platform. The length of these containers is such that they line up with the front edge of the platform when they're pushed up against the water tank. One goes to the left and right side of the bench support, leaving room for two in the center. And the aisle left between the platform and the stuff on the passengers side allows the bins to be pulled straight out and opened.
There's useful space between the furthest front bin and the base of the driver's seat; we use it to store a foam pad and one or two Pico chairs. The Costco High Sierra backpack straps to the back of the passenger's seat and gives a good amount of easy-to-get-to storage for $20.
More to come . . .
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
Continuing on . . .
Originally, there was a table that was made out of an adjustable keyboard stand holding up a plywood top. That worked OK, but it was relatively easy to make a similarly-sized table out of the 3/4" plywood also used for the bed platform, and doing so provided the opportunity to add a shelf above the wheel well that is perfect for storing a rolled-up sleeping pad.
Since the table has to stay easily removable, I didn't bother to attach it to the wall. Instead, it works to hook a flat bungee into each of the two adjacent load rings already on the van wall and hook them behind the back of the chair. This pulls the front of the chair's back cushion into the table and easily holds it in place for travel.
The incredibly cheap Home Depot rolling tool chest retains its place, though with a power strip Dual-Locked to each side panel. Also added are the charger/holder for the Streamlight Sl-20, a note card holder and the remote switch for the overhead lights. This cabinet is working out very well. The top, covered with rubber toolbox drawer liner, holds a small computer attached to the television, but it's also the perfect spot to put phones, music players, and the iPad to be charged. The drawers hold personal electronics and odds and end, and the bottom part of the cabinet is big enough to hold stuff sacks with the bedding.
Faithful readers will recall that there used to be two Disc-O-Bed cloth "cabinets" attached to the Rubbermaid FastTrack rails. After living with that setup for a while, I decided to try having just one cabinet with an additional basket. This setup works better in spite of providing less storage--turns out there's been more than enough space so far--largely as it makes the table, which had been mostly just a place to sit things, into a workable pseudo-desk.
I purposely left the table length well short of the back door, and that was a good decision. The wet jackets can go on hooks I attached to the FastTrack and there's room on the floor to carry a generator or (if summer hadn't left so soon) an 8K BTU Soleus portable air conditioner I got hold of to test out. There's a yellow adjustable-length bungee fastened to the aft end of the table that can be used to secure whatever needs secured; one common use us to hold a partly-folded Pico chair when you don't want to go to the trouble to fully put it away.
The previous Porta-Potti was replaced with the new Thetford Curve, which is to normal portable toilets as an iPad is to a TRS-80 Model 100. ("A What?" thinks 80% of the ExPo readership.) Actually, not to wax overly ecstatic about this toilet (largely because doing so is borderline creepy), this is a much sturdier, much more comfortable appliance than is usual, and may well convince campers who've previously been heading off to the campground toilets to stick with the vehicle.
I bought the locking plate for the Curve (you can see it in this photo in the lower left)
and you'd want that if you were going to be bouncing the unit around off-pavement. I found, though, that the unit can be strapped in place with a light-duty hook-and-loop strap when doing normal travel, so the locking plate would be unnecessary for many people.
And, as you might predict, I gave the red oriental runner rug I'd swiped from the front hallway back to the household. Turns out that there was a perfectly-sized one on Amazon for rather little money and that's what's in there now. The very reasonable cost is likely due to it being made of highly-dubious materials--it took two months for the chemical smell to dissipate--but it's attractive enough, and probably more sturdy than anything real.
Originally, there was a table that was made out of an adjustable keyboard stand holding up a plywood top. That worked OK, but it was relatively easy to make a similarly-sized table out of the 3/4" plywood also used for the bed platform, and doing so provided the opportunity to add a shelf above the wheel well that is perfect for storing a rolled-up sleeping pad.
Since the table has to stay easily removable, I didn't bother to attach it to the wall. Instead, it works to hook a flat bungee into each of the two adjacent load rings already on the van wall and hook them behind the back of the chair. This pulls the front of the chair's back cushion into the table and easily holds it in place for travel.
The incredibly cheap Home Depot rolling tool chest retains its place, though with a power strip Dual-Locked to each side panel. Also added are the charger/holder for the Streamlight Sl-20, a note card holder and the remote switch for the overhead lights. This cabinet is working out very well. The top, covered with rubber toolbox drawer liner, holds a small computer attached to the television, but it's also the perfect spot to put phones, music players, and the iPad to be charged. The drawers hold personal electronics and odds and end, and the bottom part of the cabinet is big enough to hold stuff sacks with the bedding.
Faithful readers will recall that there used to be two Disc-O-Bed cloth "cabinets" attached to the Rubbermaid FastTrack rails. After living with that setup for a while, I decided to try having just one cabinet with an additional basket. This setup works better in spite of providing less storage--turns out there's been more than enough space so far--largely as it makes the table, which had been mostly just a place to sit things, into a workable pseudo-desk.
I purposely left the table length well short of the back door, and that was a good decision. The wet jackets can go on hooks I attached to the FastTrack and there's room on the floor to carry a generator or (if summer hadn't left so soon) an 8K BTU Soleus portable air conditioner I got hold of to test out. There's a yellow adjustable-length bungee fastened to the aft end of the table that can be used to secure whatever needs secured; one common use us to hold a partly-folded Pico chair when you don't want to go to the trouble to fully put it away.
The previous Porta-Potti was replaced with the new Thetford Curve, which is to normal portable toilets as an iPad is to a TRS-80 Model 100. ("A What?" thinks 80% of the ExPo readership.) Actually, not to wax overly ecstatic about this toilet (largely because doing so is borderline creepy), this is a much sturdier, much more comfortable appliance than is usual, and may well convince campers who've previously been heading off to the campground toilets to stick with the vehicle.
I bought the locking plate for the Curve (you can see it in this photo in the lower left)
and you'd want that if you were going to be bouncing the unit around off-pavement. I found, though, that the unit can be strapped in place with a light-duty hook-and-loop strap when doing normal travel, so the locking plate would be unnecessary for many people.
And, as you might predict, I gave the red oriental runner rug I'd swiped from the front hallway back to the household. Turns out that there was a perfectly-sized one on Amazon for rather little money and that's what's in there now. The very reasonable cost is likely due to it being made of highly-dubious materials--it took two months for the chemical smell to dissipate--but it's attractive enough, and probably more sturdy than anything real.
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
And some more . . .
This part's a little odd, but since it's working pretty well, I'll share it. Your mileage may vary.
In the original plan, when it was time to dine, we moved the keyboard stand table up to the front and sat on the sofa. That was OK for eating, though a bit of a pain to get up from in the middle of the meal. And that setup didn't work at all if you wanted to play cards or do anything else that profits from a face-to-face orientation.
Since it was easy enough to keep two easy-to-move chairs around--one from the desk/table and one of the deployed Pico chairs, I ended up with this . . .
First, two slide-out table supports bought from Rockler got screwed to the bottom of the table top.
Then a piece of plywood was cut to the width of the part of the kitchen cabinet that holds the slide-out refrigerator. A couple of pieces of thick rubber were stuck in the right spots to locate the board and give it vertical support. And, though you can't see it in this photo, I drilled through the cabinet side into each end of the board, and bought a couple of small hitch pins to stick into the holes.
So the semi-goofy part is that I made the table top out of Gatorfoam bought from the local Blick art supply store. Gatorfoam is neither cheap or expensive, about $5 per square foot for 1/2 thick material, which is what I used. It's at an art supply place because it is usually used for mounting pictures and making signage. It's got a polystyrene core that's sandwiched between thin resin-impregnated surfaces, and as a result of these outer surfaces, the board is water-resistant and pretty strong. And it weighs just a couple of ounces per square foot. So I gave it a shot, cutting a piece that rested on the table supports and the support board, with a notch in the the drivers side edge to locate the board.
If you put one of the chairs forward of the board and one aft of it, you have a nice big face-to-face table, especially since the adjacent wood table top can also hold dinner stuff. The Gatorfoam surface is plenty strong to hold the plates, rest your elbows on it, etc.; I've no worries about it collapsing. And the way it's mounted locks the top in place front-to-back so it's really stable.
Gatorfoam comes in white or black. I bought white, and then decided black was better, so I painted it (for reasons I can't explain) with Rustoleum make-anything-into-a-chalkboard paint. That gave a nice matte finish (and someday I'll get some chalk and write something on it) but I'm sure any paint on the white Gatorfoam would work well.
The best thing about using the Gatorfoam instead of plywood or some similar material is that the table top doesn't even weigh a pound. When it's not in use, it's trivial to store it at the rear of the kitchen cabinet. And when it's time to deploy it, it takes maybe twenty seconds, which is less time than it took to move the table in front of the sofa in the previous less-satisfactory setup.
That wraps up today's effort. Feel free to ask questions or for more information.
I don't expect much more will be happening for a while. This setup worked very well on a recent trip where I spent nine of ten days in the van with different people. There's plenty of comfort, more storage space than needed, and still not much money spent, so it's all going well so far.
This part's a little odd, but since it's working pretty well, I'll share it. Your mileage may vary.
In the original plan, when it was time to dine, we moved the keyboard stand table up to the front and sat on the sofa. That was OK for eating, though a bit of a pain to get up from in the middle of the meal. And that setup didn't work at all if you wanted to play cards or do anything else that profits from a face-to-face orientation.
Since it was easy enough to keep two easy-to-move chairs around--one from the desk/table and one of the deployed Pico chairs, I ended up with this . . .
First, two slide-out table supports bought from Rockler got screwed to the bottom of the table top.
Then a piece of plywood was cut to the width of the part of the kitchen cabinet that holds the slide-out refrigerator. A couple of pieces of thick rubber were stuck in the right spots to locate the board and give it vertical support. And, though you can't see it in this photo, I drilled through the cabinet side into each end of the board, and bought a couple of small hitch pins to stick into the holes.
So the semi-goofy part is that I made the table top out of Gatorfoam bought from the local Blick art supply store. Gatorfoam is neither cheap or expensive, about $5 per square foot for 1/2 thick material, which is what I used. It's at an art supply place because it is usually used for mounting pictures and making signage. It's got a polystyrene core that's sandwiched between thin resin-impregnated surfaces, and as a result of these outer surfaces, the board is water-resistant and pretty strong. And it weighs just a couple of ounces per square foot. So I gave it a shot, cutting a piece that rested on the table supports and the support board, with a notch in the the drivers side edge to locate the board.
If you put one of the chairs forward of the board and one aft of it, you have a nice big face-to-face table, especially since the adjacent wood table top can also hold dinner stuff. The Gatorfoam surface is plenty strong to hold the plates, rest your elbows on it, etc.; I've no worries about it collapsing. And the way it's mounted locks the top in place front-to-back so it's really stable.
Gatorfoam comes in white or black. I bought white, and then decided black was better, so I painted it (for reasons I can't explain) with Rustoleum make-anything-into-a-chalkboard paint. That gave a nice matte finish (and someday I'll get some chalk and write something on it) but I'm sure any paint on the white Gatorfoam would work well.
The best thing about using the Gatorfoam instead of plywood or some similar material is that the table top doesn't even weigh a pound. When it's not in use, it's trivial to store it at the rear of the kitchen cabinet. And when it's time to deploy it, it takes maybe twenty seconds, which is less time than it took to move the table in front of the sofa in the previous less-satisfactory setup.
That wraps up today's effort. Feel free to ask questions or for more information.
I don't expect much more will be happening for a while. This setup worked very well on a recent trip where I spent nine of ten days in the van with different people. There's plenty of comfort, more storage space than needed, and still not much money spent, so it's all going well so far.
Ford Prefect
Expedition Leader
Love the new Rug, and the table idea is inventive. I would think it would be odd to try to get up from the back seat behind the table, but other than that it seems like a great idea. Perhaps you should paint the counter next to the table top in the same matching paint.
Good stuff Mike, very cool, thanks for sharing!
Good stuff Mike, very cool, thanks for sharing!
mhiscox
Expedition Leader
It is admittedly a little odd, since whomever is in the back is pretty much trapped there. On the other hand, there's nowhere that person would be going. That position is only used when there are two people, so another person is always available to fetch or do anything in the front two thirds of the van. Also, though, it's very simple to lift up the black table top (which isn't attached) and sit it temporarily on the wood table.